July 31, 2017

From the wiki: “”What Kind of Fool Am I?” is a popular song written by Leslie Bricusse and Anthony Newley and published in 1962. It was introduced by Anthony Newley in the musical Stop The World – I Want To Get Off. Bricusse and Newley received the 1961 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically.

“This song was recorded while Newley was on the road with the touring company of ‘Stop the World …’ in the United States, after its hugely successful run in the United Kingdom. By the time the cast reached New York, Tony Bennett had re-recorded the song*. The song was a hit for Sammy Davis Jr. in the year of its publication, peaking at #17 on the Billboard Hot 100 chart and at #6 on the Billboard Easy Listening chart. It also won a Grammy Award for Song of the Year, with songwriters Bricusse and Newley becoming the first Britons to do so. In 1963 Shirley Bassey released the song as a Columbia Record single and her version reached #47 on the UK charts.

‘When I was in England to see Oliver! and I heard ‘What Kind of Fool Am I?’, Tony was my first choice for the song. (Sammy Davis, Jr. found the song by himself.) Tony had had ‘San Francisco’ out for six or eight weeks and he said, ‘Howie, I’m going to stick with ‘San Francisco’ for a while. I like ‘What Kind of Fool’ but –.’ I said to him, ‘Tony! ‘San Francisco’ has been out a couple of months and nothing’s happening with it!’ Tony said, ‘Well, I’m still going to stick with it for a while.’ Well, we all know how that turned out.'”

July 3, 2017

From the wiki: “‘Any Other Fool’ was written by Diane Warren (‘Set the Night to Music‘, ‘Because You Loved Me’) and Robbie Buchanan. It was first recorded in late 1988 or early 1989 by Dusty Springfield for a planned inclusion on Reputation.

“But, Springfield was said to have been upset that Warren had also given the song to someone else when it had been promised to her. She then chose not to include her own recording of the song when Reputation was released in 1990. When the album was repackaged and re-released in 1997 (only in the UK), as Reputation and Rarities, Springfield’s recording of ‘Any Other Fool’ was included as a bonus CD track.

“That ‘someone else’ were Sadao Watanabe and Patti Austin, whose recording of ‘Any Other Fool’ was released as a single on Dec. 9, 1989 from Watanabe’s Front Seat album. Their single peaked at #6 on the Billboard Hot 100 on Feb. 24, 1990, spending a total of 23 weeks on the chart.”

From the wiki: “‘Baubles, Bangles & Beads’ is from the 1953 musical Kismet, credited to Robert Wright and George Forrest. Like all the music in that show, the melody was based on works by Alexander Borodin, in this case the second theme of the second movement of his String Quartet in D.

“The best-selling version of the song was recorded by Peggy Lee in 1953, charting in 1954. Another popular cover from 1954 was recorded by Georgia Gibbs, released as the B-side to ‘Somebody Bad Stole De Wedding Bell’. A Kirby Stone Four re-make hit the Billboard Top 100 in 1958 and remains the favorite cover heard on Adult Standard (MOR) radio stations. Frank Sinatra recorded the song twice: in 1959 with the Billy May Orchestra, and again in 1967 in a Bossa nova arrangment with guitarist Antonion Carlos Jobim. (Eumir) Deodato recorded an instrumental version for his hit LP of 1973.

“The most curious version mixed the scherzo of Borodin’s ‘String Quartet No. 2’ with the pop arrangement of ‘Baubles, Bangles & Beads’, under the name ‘Borodin, Bangles & Beads’, and arranged by the Argentine Ernesto Acher in 1987 on his album Juegos.”

June 12, 2017

From the wiki: “‘Play That Song’ incorporates the melody of ‘Heart and Soul‘, written in 1938 by Hoagy Carmichael and Frank Loesser. They are credited as ‘Play That Song’ writers, alongside Train lead singer Patrick Monahan and producer William Wiik Larsen.

“The original recording of ‘Heart and Soul’ was performed by Larry Clinton & his Orchestra featuring Bea Wain, one of three versions that would chart in 1939: Larry Clinton (reaching #1 on the chart), Eddy Duchin (reaching #12), and Al Donahue (reaching #16). ‘Heart and Soul’ later charted as #11 in 1952 by The Four Aces with the Jack Pleis Orchestra. The Cleftones charted a rock ‘n roll version of the song in 1961, a recording that was also popularly used in the 1972 movie American Graffiti.

“‘Play That Song’ was released on September 29, 2016 as the lead single from Train’s tenth studio album A Girl, a Bottle, a Boat (2017). The song has peaked at #41 on the US Billboard Hot 100 but became a Top-10 hit in Australia.”

From the wiki: “‘Daisy Bell (Bicycle Built for Two)’ was written in 1892 by Harry Dacre. The song is said to have been inspired by Daisy Greville, Countess of Warwick, one of the many mistresses of King Edward VII (1841-1910). The song was first recorded and released by Dan W. Quinn in 1893. Edward M. Favor recorded a version in 1894 that still exists.

“In 1942, when Dinah Shore appeared on Eddie Cantor’s popular radio show, she performed a clever arrangement of the song. The Nazi-sponsored German propaganda swing band, Charlie & His Orchestra, also released a cover of the song in 1942, aimed at listeners in the UK and the US. Nat King Cole recorded a cover for his popular 1963 album Those Lazy-Crazy-Hazy Days of Summer.

March 6, 2017

From the wiki: “‘Love Me’ was first recorded and released by the Bee Gees, released on the 1976 album Children of the World. It was written by Barry and Robin Gibb featuring Robin on lead with his falsetto (with Barry on the middle eight evidenced on the outro). This makes this song a curio among the group’s mid- to late-’70s tracks, as Barry sang most of the The Bee Gee’s lead vocals. Yvonne Elliman’s version was more successful than the Bee Gees’, reaching the Top-20 US chart, and Top-10 in the UK, Ireland and New Zealand. Martine McCutcheon remade ‘Love Me’ for her 1999 debut album You, Me & Us from which the track – serving as the BBC Children in Need single for 1999 – was issued as the third single.”

February 20, 2017

First performed by Ella Logan & Donald Richards (1947).
First recorded by Charley Spivak & His Orchestra (1947).
Hit version by Margaret Whiting (US #11 1947).
Also recorded by Miles Davis (1954), Sarah Vaughn (1954), Frank Sinatra (1956), Chet Baker (1958)

From the wiki: “‘Old Devil Moon’ was composed by Burton Lane, with lyrics by E.Y. Harburg, for the 1947 musical Finian’s Rainbow. It was introduced on stage by Ella Logan and Donald Richards. It was first recorded for commercial release by Charley Spivak & His Orchestra; singer Margaret Whiting topped the US Hit Parade in 1947 with her cover recording, from the Margaret Whiting Sings album.

“Another popular rendition of this song was recorded by Frank Sinatra, who included ‘Old Devil Moon’ on his 1956 Capitol Records album Songs for Swingin’ Lovers! which peaked at #1 in the UK. Sarah Vaughn, and Chet Baker also recorded popular vocal arrangements. Miles Davis recorded a popular instrumental version in 1954 for the Blue Haze album.”

From the wiki: “‘Peg o’ My Heart’ was written by Alfred Bryan and Fred Fisher. The song was inspired by the main character, Peg, in the very successful musical comedy of the time, Peg O’ My Heart, starring Laurette Taylor in the title role. It would be first performed publicly by Irving Kaufman in 1912 at The College Inn in New York City after he had stumbled across a draft of sheet music on a shelf at the Leo Feist publishing offices. ‘Peg o My Heart’ would be featured in the 1913 musical Ziegfeld Follies where it gained wide attention.

“The first recording of ‘Peg o’ My Heart’ was made by Charles Harrison, in July 1913. Henry Burr followed in August 1913 with his rendition. Both proved to be nationally-popular recordings. ‘Peg o’ My Heart’ saw a resurgence of popularity after WWII with numerous covers jockeying for popularity in 1947, including #1 recordings by The Three Suns, Buddy Clark, and The Harmonicats. In 2011, Celtic punk band Dropkick Murphys would revive the song, with a guest appearance by Bruce Springsteen.”

From the wiki: “‘Music to Watch Girls Go By’ was composed by Tony Velona and Sidney ‘Sid’ Ramin, and was first recorded as a commercial jingle demo for Diet Pepsi, where producer Bob Crewe first heard the song. Crewe, using his own name, then recorded the song under his nom de plume ‘The Bob Crewe Generation’. Crewe’s ‘big-band, horn driven’ recording went to #15 on the Pop chart and #2 on the Easy Listening chart.

“A vocal recording by Andy Williams, featuring lyrics by original co-writer Velona, went to #34 in the United States and #33 in the UK but, after it was used in a Fiat ad in the UK in 1999, the re-released single reached the UK Top-10. The version by Al Hirt in 1967 reached #31 on the MOR chart and bubbled-under the Billboard Hot 100. In 1967, an instrumental version, renamed ‘Music to Watch Space Girls By’, appeared on Leonard Nimoy’s debut album Leonard Nimoy Presents Mr. Spock’s Music from Outer Space.”

January 2, 2017

Written and first recorded (as a demo) by Steve Porcaro (1983).
Hit version by Michael Jackson (US #7/MOR #2/R&B #27/CAN #11 1984).

From the wiki: “‘Human Nature’ was written by Toto band member Steve Porcaro about a playground incident his daughter had at school earlier in the day. (A boy had hit her after she fell off the slide – Porcaro said ‘she asked [me] why?’ and he replied ‘it was human nature.’) Procaro wrote the song that night in a studio while the band was mixing their single, ‘Africa’, in another studio.

“Soon after, bandmate David Paich called Procaro one day to make a cassette tape of 2 songs David had written for Michael Jackson’s new Thriller album project, for someone to pick up for delivery. Procaro happened to use the cassette he recorded ‘Human Nature’ on, putting Paich’s songs on the opposite side and switching the labels to read Side-A. It was a happy accident that auto-playback kicked in while Jackson producer Quincy Jones was in his car listening to Porcaro’s cassette demo. Jones got to hear ‘Human Nature’ on Side B, and loved it.”

December 26, 2016

Co-written and first recorded by Bert Kaempfert (1964).
Hit version by Nat “King” Cole (US #89/MOR #17 1965).

From the wiki: “‘L-O-V-E’ was composed by Bert Kaempfert, and was first recorded as an instrumental track on Kaempfert’s album Blue Midnight (1964).

“Nat ‘King’ Cole followed in 1965 with his vocal recording for his album of the same name (1965), with lyrics by Milt Gabler. The trumpet solo on the Cole recording was performed by Bobby Bryant. For international versions of L-O-V-E album, Cole also recorded versions of ‘L-O-V-E’ in Japanese (mixed with English words), Italian, German, Spanish and French (as ‘Je Ne Repartirai Pas’).”

From the wiki: “‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’ was introduced on ABC’s television series Disneyland, in the premiere episode of October 27, 1954, sung by The Wellingtons but performed on-screen by Fess Parker, playing the role of Davy Crockett, accompanied by similarly attired musicians. The song would later be heard throughout the follow-up Disneyland television miniseries, Davy Crockett, first telecast on December 15, 1954. The Wellingtons were originally called The Lincolns, and recorded for Kapp Records. As The Wellingtons, they were signed by Walt Disney to record the theme song for Disney’s The Wonderful World of Color and, subsequently, ‘The Ballad of Davy Crockett’.

“Trivia: Gilligan’s Island producer Sherwood Schwartz, working with composer George Wyle, came up with a Folk song theme song that told the back story of the castaways, and hired The Wellingtons to sing it. The song was a hit. The Wellingtons appear in a second season (1965–66) episode of Gilligan’s Island as a Rock group called ‘The Mosquitoes’.

December 12, 2016

First recorded by David Whitfield & the Mantovani Orchestra (US #10/UK #1 1954).
Other hit version by Jay & the Americans (US #4 1965 |NETH #1 1980).

From the wiki: “Authorship of ‘Cara Mia’ (in Italian, ‘my beloved’) is credited to Tulio Trapani (the nom de plume of the song’s co-writer and arranger Mantovani) and Lee Lange (Bunny Lewis, David Whitfield’s producer). English singer David Whitfield first recorded the song with the Mantovani Orchestra in 1954. Whitfield’s version became one of the biggest selling British records in the pre-rock days, the first UK record to spend ten consecutive weeks at #1 on the UK Singles chart. It sold more than three and a half million copies worldwide and was also a Top-10 hit in the US.

“The 1965 cover by Jay & the Americans became a #4 hit in the US. It was re-released in 1980 in the Netherlands and became a #1 hit there.”

From the wiki: “‘Memory’, often incorrectly called ‘Memories’, is a show tune from the 1981 musical Cats. Its writers, Andrew Lloyd Webber and Cats director Trevor Nunn, received the 1981 Ivor Novello award for Best Song Musically and Lyrically. (Prior to its inclusion in Cats, the tune was earmarked for earlier Lloyd Webber projects, including a ballad for Perón in Evita, and as a song for Max in his original 1970s draft of Sunset Boulevard.)

“The lyric was based on T. S. Eliot’s poems ‘Preludes’ and ‘Rhapsody on a Windy Night’. Composer Lloyd Webber feared that the tune sounded too similar to Ravel’s ‘Bolero’ and to a work by Puccini, and also that the opening – the haunting main theme – closely resembled the flute solo (improvised by Bud Shank in the studio) from The Mamas & the Papas’ 1965 song ‘California Dreamin””. He asked his father’s opinion; according to Lloyd Webber, his father responded ‘It sounds like a million dollars!’ While Lloyd Webber does acknowledge Ravel’s ‘Bolero’, there is no mention of similarity to ‘Bolero in Blue’ written by Larry Clinton, replicating note-for-note the first several measures from Clinton’s composition.

From Songfacts.com: “‘I Love How You Love Me’ was written by Barry Mann (‘Who Put the Bomp’, ‘Venus in Blue Jeans‘, ‘We Gotta Get Out of This Place‘, ‘Never Gonna Let You Go‘) and Larry Kolber, and first recorded as a demo by Mann in 1961. According to Rich Podolsky’s book Don Kirshner: The Man with the Golden Ear, Kolber’s post-military career (he had been a journalist for Stars & Stripes) found him, first, a whiskey salesman and, then, after a casual encounter, a budding lyricist – an unpredictable twist. It was while having lunch at a cafe on Manhattan across the street from Aldon Music that Kolber literally jotted down on a napkin the lyrics, in minutes, to ‘I Love How You Love Me’! Kolber went across to Aldon to look for someone to set his lyrics to music. Barry Mann happened to be in the Aldon offices just at that moment, and it was he who set Kolber’s lyrics to music.

“Tony Orlando was originally slated to sing it, but Phil Spector happened to drop by and asked for the song for one of his girl groups. Kolber was disappointed, thinking that he’d lost a shot at fame without Orlando’s voice.

October 3, 2016

Co-written and first recorded (as a demo) by Carole King (1967).
Hit version by The Monkees (US #3/CAN #2/UK #11 1967).

From the wiki: “‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and was first recorded in 1967 as a demo by King. Goffin’s and King’s inspiration for the name was a street named Pleasant Valley Way, in West Orange, New Jersey where they were living at the time. The road follows a valley through several communities among the Watchung Mountains. The lyrics were a social commentary on status symbols, creature comforts, life in suburbia and ‘keeping up with the Joneses’.

“The Monkees’ single peaked at #3 on the Billboard Hot 100 and was featured in the second season of their television series. The Monkees. ‘Pleasant Valley Sunday’ also appeared on the fourth Monkees album, Pisces, Aquarius, Capricorn & Jones Ltd., in November 1967. While mono copies of the album had the same version heard on the single, stereo copies had a version using a different take of the first verse and an additional backing vocal during the break.”

September 26, 2016

First recorded (as a demo) by Carole King (1961).
Also recorded by Dion & the Belmonts (1961), The Beatles (1962, released 2009).
Hit versions by Bobby Vee (US #1/UK #3 1961), Bobby Vinton (US #33 1968).

From the wiki: “‘Take Good Care of My Baby’ was written by Carole King and Gerry Goffin, and was first recorded by King as a demo in 1961.

“Dion & the Belmonts were the first to record the song for commercial release but their version was not published until release of the album Runaround Sue in the slipstream of Bobby Vee’s #1 hit. The song was covered by The Beatles during their audition at Decca Records on January 1, 1962 but was unreleased until 2009.

“In 1968, ‘Take Good Care’ became a hit again, this time for Bobby Vinton.”

From the wiki: “‘Go Away Little Girl’ was written by Gerry Goffin and Carole King, and was first recorded in 1962 by Bobby Vee. The song would go on to become notable for making the American Top-20 three times: for Steve Lawrence in 1962, for The Happenings in 1966, and for Donny Osmond in 1971. ‘Go Away Little Girl’ was also the first song, and one of only nine total, to reach US #1 by two different artists (Lawrence, in 1962; and Osmond, in 1971). The original recording by Vee was cut during same session as ‘It Might As Well Rain Until September’ and ‘Sharing You’. Not satisfied with the result, the song was shelved until producer Don Kirshner passed the song along to his good friend, Steve Lawrence.

September 12, 2016

First recorded as “Cotton’s Theme” by Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin, Jr. (1971).
Also recorded by Sounds of Sunshine (1973).
Hit version (as “Nadia’s Theme”) by Barry De Vorzon (US #8 1977).
Hit version (sampled in “No More Drama”) by Mary J. Blige (US #15/R&B #16/UK #9 2001).

From the wiki: “Mary J. Blige sampled the instrumental popularly known as ‘Nadia’s Theme’ as a backdrop for her 2001 single, ‘No More Drama’. Barry De Vorzon and Perry Botkin Jr. composed this piece of music, originally titled ‘Cotton’s Dream’, as incidental music for the 1971 theatrical film Bless the Beasts and Children. Botkin Jr. later composed a rearranged version of the instrumental theme for the U.S. TV soap opera The Young and the Restless, which debuted on March 26, 1973, on the CBS television network. Although a soundtrack album for the TV series was released by P.I.P. Records in 1974, the LP only contained a cover version by easy-listening group Sounds of Sunshine, rather than the original recording by De Vorzon and Botkin.

August 22, 2016

Written and first performed (live) by Neil Diamond (1966).
Hit version by The Monkees (US #2/UK #3/CAN #1/AUS #4 1967).

From the wiki: “‘A Little Bit Me, A Little Bit You’ was written by Neil Diamond. He never made a studio recording of the song (as he had done with The Monkees’ ‘I’m a Believer‘), but he did perform ‘A Little Bit Me’ in his live shows circa late 1966.

August 1, 2016

Written and first recorded by Bobby Gosh (1973).
Hit version by Dr. Hook (US #11/UK #2 1976), 911 (UK #1/IRE #7/NZ #46 1999).
Also recorded by Bill Brantley (1977).

From the wiki: “‘A Little Bit More’ was written and first recorded by Bobby Gosh, released on his 1973 album Sitting in the Quiet. The first hit version was recorded by the band Dr. Hook. Released in 1976, it charted at #11 on the US Billboard Hot 100, and #2 on the UK Singles chart.

“Soul singer Bill Brantley (the ‘Titus’ half of the duo ‘Van & Titus’) recorded a critically well-received cover of ‘A Little Bit More’, releasing it as the A-side of his second solo single in 1976 but with no apparent chart impact.

“In 1998, English boy band 911 recorded a cover of ‘A Little Bit More’ for their third studio album, There It Is (1999). It went on to become one of their most successful singles, debuting at #1 on the UK Singles Chart in January 1999, becoming their only #1 single.”

From the wiki: “‘Blue Skies’ was composed by Irving Berlin in 1926 as a last-minute addition to the Rodgers and Hart musical Betsy. Although the show ran for 39 performances only, the song was an instant success, with audiences on opening night demanding 24 encores of the piece from star Belle Baker. During the final repetition, Ms. Baker forgot her lyrics, prompting Berlin to sing them from his seat in the front row.

July 4, 2016

From the wiki: “‘I Left My Heart in San Francisco’ was written in the fall of 1953 in Brooklyn, New York, by George Cory and Douglass Cross, two amateur writers nostalgic for San Francisco after moving to New York. The song was originally written for opera singer Claramae Turner, a personal friend of Cross, who often used it as an encore. However, she never got around to recording it. The song found its way to Tony Bennett through Ralph Sharon, Bennett’s longtime accompanist and friends with the composers. Sharon brought the music along when he and Bennett were on tour and on their way to San Francisco’s Fairmont Hotel.

“Prior to Bennett hearing it, though, the song was first pitched to Tennessee Ernie Ford, who Turner first suggested Cross take it to. Ford turned the song down (but, in a coincidental turn of events, later purchased a ranch in Lake County, California, north of San Francisco, owned by Cross’s family).

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